---

Welfare Reform Bill

The Committee is most grateful to the Minister for the help that he has given us today and beforehand in the form of documents and information. In supporting the amendment, I have a question about Amendment 22D. Hidden here is a group of jobseekers who are not mentioned and are not necessarily under the DWP, but may come more under the Ministry of Justice and possibly also the Minister for Children. I refer to jobseekers—which is what all prisoners are, if we are to believe that the rehabilitation of offenders is all about helping them, and all the talk about jobseekers’ organisations in prisons is meant to be that. What about the jobseeker in prison who has a child aged under 16? Who will help with that? The way that the present system is currently conducted, often a prisoner is moved miles away from the home area where the children aged under 16 are. The person responsible for dealing with him on jobseeking may have nothing to do with the children. I wonder whether there have been discussions between the Minister’s department, the Ministry of Justice and the department responsible for children about how that can be managed. I also wonder whether those who are responsible for children aged under 16 in care, as carers in the community, will have the same responsibility laid on them as on those who are parents themselves.